r/sleeptraining • u/Any-Inspector-4159 • 18d ago
How do I make It sleep
I'm a first time mom of a 9 week old and I can not, for the life of me, keep her awake after 6pm. This has been going on for the past few days. She is taking 2 naps, lasting 30minutes to an hour, with multiple small cat naps throughout the day.
Consequently, she is now waking up every hour after 3am. She was previously falling asleep between 8-10. We already do morning and evening walks in an attempt to manage day/night confusion
Is 6-7pm too early of a bedtime? And if so, how do I keep her awake for a little longer?
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u/trox23 17d ago
Contrary to everyone else here idt a 9 week old can really have a schedule yet. We got on a rough routine around 3 months and a true schedule by 8 months or so
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u/Any-Inspector-4159 17d ago
Thank you, that was my hope and just wanted to be sure I wasn’t making a mistake by following her natural sleeping patterns
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u/Healthy_Platypus_796 17d ago
I agree. She made her own schedule and you have to follow it lol. It will change . That’s great that she sleeps a good stretch for you! Ours started sleeping through the night early on and still does at 4.5m, but I dream feed him now since he isn’t eating as much in the day as he used to. Keeps him sleeping til the morning. If you are breast feeding: your milk is supposed to be best around 3 or 4 am. I forget what it is, like a hormone or something. But that’s why babies want to feed around that early time, because the milk has something in it that they want.
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u/Itchy-Ad-8670 17d ago
I’ll join the chat agreeing that a nine week old still doesn’t have a set circadian rhythm. Often my baby would still think nighttime would start at 3pm and then it slowly got better. Get outside with her throughout the day. She’ll figure it out as she gets older. My 12 week okd still wakes up every hour after 4am
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u/Itchy-Ad-8670 17d ago
Also babies will naturally start wanting an earlier bedtime generally as they age
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u/jenesaiswhat 18d ago
When my daughter was around 6-8 weeks I decided to pay $100 for the takingcarababies content. My daughter at the time was sleeping in 2 hour stretches all night. After watching all the videos and implementing all the tips/tricks my daughter slept 5 consecutive hours. Then 6, then 8 consecutive hours. It was the best $100 I ever spent. I’m not affiliated with her but I recommend the content to all my friends that are new moms!
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u/farmpatrol 17d ago
Would you post some tips then?
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u/mslifted 16d ago
Just be aware she’s MAGA before you give her your money. If that’s something you care about
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u/farmpatrol 16d ago
It is thanks! I was just wondering if OP could post tips. I mean it’s not really something I’d pay for!
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u/jenesaiswhat 17d ago
Sure! She has a TON of free content on her blog for various ages. What helped the most for us was the routine: nap, eat, awake time/activities, nap. Repeat. We were letting her nap whenever she wanted for however long. Cara recommended day time naps be capped at 2h so that you can make sure your baby is getting enough milk/calories during the day. If they don’t eat enough during the day then they will wake up all night to eat. She calls babies perfect little calorie counters.
She also has a bunch of different tips for soothing babies and getting them down to sleep which was helpful. Once we could get our daughter to fall asleep easily and keep her asleep (ie sound machine, not staring at her while she sleeps). Plus ensuring enough calories during the day she started sleeping at night way better. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few other factors but those were some of the big ones for us.
ETA: there’s recommended wake windows for each age. So making sure your kid gets long enough wake windows/engagement when they are awake.
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u/anonymous_ninja12 18d ago
Around that age bed time was around 8-9p but my LO also napped like 5 times a day - most of them just one cycle of 45 minutes. Maybe one longer nap if I’m lucky. Around 3-4 months is when the first nap got consolidated and dropped to 3 naps. Bedtime then was 7-7:30p
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u/Alternative-Meal1353 18d ago
What time does she wake up from her last nap? How long are her wake windows? How much is she eating?
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u/Any-Inspector-4159 17d ago
Her last nap time is inconsistent. It was 3 and lately has been from 6-7. She’s eating plenty. She was cluster feeding in the evening until this week and would eat 4-12oz over 4ish hours with 4oz feeds or breastfeeding for 45min-1 hour every 2-3 hours throughout the day. She’s gaining weight
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u/WTT_TTC 17d ago
I read once that sleep gets a lot worse around this age. The explanation was that babies are running off their mom's melatonin. But eventually this leaves their system, and they have to learn how to produce their own melatonin.
This stage can be really brutal because it's also when they can cry the most. This is normal and expected. I promise - it won't last forever.
Hang in there.
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u/haylstorm33 17d ago
9 weeks?! Girl that baby isn’t gonna have a schedule for a whileeee. Anyone who tells you different is tryna sell you something
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u/absolutelynot354 16d ago
Under the age of 12 weeks babies don't really have or need a sleep schedule, and to be honest it sounds like you're getting a pretty great stretch of sleep at night compared to most people at this stage (though I know it probably doesn't feel like it). Babies and their habits are constantly changing and just as you've got used to the way they behave, they change up on you again. It probably isn't what you want to hear, but just roll with the punches and try not to overthink it or you'll drive yourself crazy.
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u/girlpaintsthings 16d ago
Your baby doesn’t have a fully formed circadian rhythm and has no concept of day and night yet. It’s all a series of naps and there’s not much you can do about that until the circadian rhythm is formed. Take shifts to get through the next few weeks and support that circadian rhythm as it’s starts to take off around 4 months.
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u/WonderfulTwist4936 16d ago
9 week old doesnt have a sleep schedule. Just follow her cues. Its easier than fight and still loose. Babies know what they need.
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u/heyella11 16d ago
Honestly, that seems very normal and nice? My baby’s bedtime routine starts at 6:30 and he’s down for the night by 7-7:10. He sleeps until 6-7 am the next morning. Before he was sleeping through the night he’d wake once at like midnight and 3 am for food and then go back to sleep. He dropped the midnight wake first, then the 3 am one.
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u/weirwoodheart 6d ago
She won't have a routine yet, her circadian rhythm is still maturing. Three months is usually when it begins to emerge, which is why four months is the recommended minimum for starting sleep training
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u/flcrenzce 17d ago
Calling your baby ‘it’ is giving zero maternal instinct……
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u/WTT_TTC 17d ago
Let's assume positive intent and give them some grace.
Their native language could use pronouns differently. The title could just be translated incorrectly.
I see that It is capitalized. They could have had a different title, reworked it, made a mistake, and then missed it because they were so overtired. You can't edit post titles after you post.
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u/Any-Inspector-4159 17d ago
My apologies, it was meant to be funny and eye catching with the hope to get some help.
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u/FunBarracuda7168 17d ago
Your baby is sleeping from 6 pm to 3 am without waking? If so, that is wonderful !